The Redemption of Jake Scully (20 page)

Lacey forced up her chin and started toward the boarding house. She was such a fool. In his mind, Scully was still her guardian and nothing more.

Lacey brushed away the tear that slipped down her cheek, then raised her chin higher. Another truth that she could deny no longer was that she loved Scully in a way that surpassed friendship. She could think of no greater joy than that of spending the rest of her life in his arms as his wife and the mother of his children. But he regarded
her
as a child.

That thought doused Lacey with sudden, cold reality. Scully thought of her as a child because she had been behaving like a child—dependent, needy, uncertain. Her dependency was a disservice to Scully, to the man who had cared for her for the greater portion of her life. He deserved to be set free of the responsibility that had been fostered upon him by her well-meaning grandfather. He needed to be freed to take steps toward settling his own future—a future held in abeyance because of her; a future that included a woman who would love him the way he was meant to be loved, and who would bring him back to a more stable way of life.

Sadly, that woman would not be she.

Still struggling for control of her emotions as she reached her boarding house door, Lacey was about to push it open when a slim, dark-haired cowpoke stepped unexpectedly into view.

Lacey gasped with a start, and the fellow said politely, “I’m sorry if I frightened you, ma’am, but we have a mutual friend, and I’d like to talk to you a moment if I can.”

Lacey struggled to regain her composure as she responded, “A mutual friend?”

“Jewel Nichols. My name’s Buddy Cross.”

“Oh, yes, I remember.” He had appeared with Jewel at the boarding house door that early morning after Riley struck Rosie. Lacey managed an uncertain smile. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Buddy continued soberly, “I wanted to make sure you knew how much the lessons you’re giving Jewel and Rosie mean to them.”

Lacey was momentarily startled. “You know about the lessons?”

Smiling for the first time, Buddy said shyly, “Yes, ma’am. Jewel doesn’t keep too much a secret from me.” His smile faded as he continued earnestly, “But Jewel does hide her feelings from most folks. She’s not like Rosie, who wears the way she feels out in the open, so I figured it was important to let you know, in case she didn’t, how much the lessons mean to Jewel, too.”

“I—I’m glad to hear that, Buddy.”

“I wanted to make sure you knew that Rosie and Jewel both consider you a friend.”

“I
am
their friend.”

“Ma’am…” Buddy hesitated as he searched for the right words. He continued, “I needed to tell you that being Jewel’s friend makes you my friend, and you can call on me if there’s anything I can ever do for you.”

“Thank you, Buddy.”

“No, I’m the one who’s thanking you, ma’am. You’re the only person besides me who’s ever given a thought to making Jewel’s life better, and I appreciate that…a lot.”

Lacey was momentarily unable to reply.

His face flushing, the slender cowhand continued, “You see, I’m Jewel’s friend, but I also hope to make her my missus someday.”

His words causing a lump to tighten in her throat, Lacey extended her hand and said, with true warmth, “Buddy Cross, I’m so pleased to meet you.”

Buddy’s heartfelt declaration lingered in Lacey’s mind as Buddy tipped his hat with a polite goodbye and walked back to the horse he had tethered nearby.

Pushing open the door to her room with a determined hand moments later, Lacey felt the weight of her former decision returning. It was time to take adult steps to correct the situation between Scully and her…to relieve him of the responsibility that was weighing him down.

Her decision steadfast, she knew she could do that in only one way.

“Lacey’s upset.” Rosie shook her head as she and Jewel walked down Main Street. They had finished their lesson a short time earlier, had waited the required minutes after Lacey left the church before leaving behind her so no one would suspect that they had been working together. Silent since Lacey closed the church door behind her, Rosie had then stated the obvious as a way of breaking the silence. She continued with a glance at her friend, “She’s trying to hide it, but Lacey’s miserable.”

“You don’t need to be a mind reader to see that.”

“We need to help her, Jewel.”

Jewel’s quick glance was sharp. “It’s none of our business, Rosie.”

“Like it was none of Lacey’s business that we couldn’t read or write, you mean?”

“Don’t start that again. It’s not the same thing.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Rosie…” Jewel stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face her friend, “You can’t fix everybody’s life, especially when you can’t even fix your own.”

Sobering, Rosie replied, “You’re right. I couldn’t fix my own life, but Riley’s been out of it for more than two weeks now. He won’t be coming back this time, all because a couple of friends helped me out. I’m also learning to read and write because another friend is taking the time to teach me, so I figure I owe something in return.”

“Rosie…”

“I know having her Bible stolen was hard for Lacey. I still can’t imagine why anyone would take it, but I don’t think that’s all that’s bothering her. Maybe I should tell Scully and he can—”

“No!”

Rosie’s pale eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Jewel shook her head.

She repeated, “Why?”

“Haven’t you noticed that Scully and Lacey haven’t been seen around together very much lately…that Scully’s been spending more time at the Nugget than before…that Charlotte’s been sashaying around him again?”

“Yes, but—”

Jewel looked at her pointedly.

“Oh, no, that can’t be it!”

“Maybe not, but it’s obvious that Lacey and Scully have had some kind of a falling out. The only thing I don’t know is what Lacey’s thinking.”

Her eyes filling with sudden tears, Rosie whispered, “She must feel so alone. What can we do to help her?”

No response.

“Jewel?”

Jewel sighed. “We can’t change Scully’s preference for redheads, if that’s the problem. I suppose we can only watch and wait, and be there if Lacey needs us.”

Rosie nodded. She supposed Jewel was right. What other strategy could two women employ to help a friend when their own lives were too far from perfect to enable them to give advice?

Yes, they’d just have to watch and wait.

Yes, she could relieve Scully of the responsibility he felt for her in only one way.

The dawn sky was still streaked with night as Lacey, dressed in riding clothes, made her way toward the livery stable with that thought foremost in mind.

Lacey reviewed her decision as she neared the dimly lit stable. As painful as it was, the message from Scully the previous day, saying he’d again be unable to meet her for supper, had been a clear confirmation of the conclusion she had forced herself to face. She had taken a job at the restaurant and attempted to face her fears when she went to the site of her grandfather’s cabin to see his grave, but she had continued to lean on Scully by refusing to face those fears. She needed to eliminate her nightmares forever by forcing herself to remember the lost details of the night her grandfather was killed.

She needed to do that for herself; but mostly, she needed to do that for Scully—to set him free.

It was the least she could do.

Because she loved him.

Resolved, she had taken immediate steps toward that goal. She had made arrangements with Sadie to have Millie replace her at the restaurant until she returned. She had prepared Rosie and Jewel’s lessons for a few days and had delivered them to their door. She had bought the necessary supplies at the mercantile store and had arranged to have them packed on the mount that would be ready for her when she reached the livery stable that morning. She would be on her way within minutes—a step she hadn’t had the courage to take until now.

Her heart pounding as she entered the stable, Lacey met Barney Pettit’s concerned glance. She returned it with a forced smile at the livery stable proprietor as he said, “You’re sure you want to do this, ma’am? Riding out alone in this country is dangerous for a young woman like you.”

“I won’t be alone…not really.” She patted the new Bible Reverend Sykes had given her before slipping it into her saddle bag. Touched by the old man’s concern, she continued, “Besides, it’s no more dangerous now than it was for an eight-year-old girl who made it to Weaver alone ten years ago. I did it then without supplies, and by walking a good part of the way. Surely I can do it now, as prepared as I am, and with a good, strong horse under me.”

“I don’t know…”

“Don’t worry, Barney. I traveled this country with my grandfather when he was prospecting, remember? I know it quite well.” Aware that her statement was a stretch of the truth, Lacey patted Barney’s arm reassuringly. “I’ll be fine.”

A sudden braying from the corral in the rear turned Lacey in its direction. “And you don’t have to worry about my getting lost, since I’m taking Careful with me. He knows these trails better than most people in these parts do. He’ll get me back.”

“Well, he’s as ready to go as he’ll ever be.”

Like her.

Mounted within minutes, Lacey turned her horse out onto the street with Careful trotting behind.

“Lacey Stewart isn’t working in the restaurant this morning, and do you know why?” Barret glared at his sleep-drugged hirelings as he harangued, “Because she left town at dawn…while you both were sleeping!”

Barret was apoplectic as he faced the two men in the cabin they shared at the edge of town. He had arrived at their quarters moments earlier as the morning sun began rising, and had found both Larry and Blackie asleep in unclean bunks unfit for man or beast. Infuriated almost as much by being subjected to the rank odor of the cabin as he was by their ineptitude, he said, “I told you she’d make her move soon. I told you to watch her…not to let her out of your sight!”

“You didn’t say nothing about watching her all night long.”

“Do I have to spell everything out for you? Anyone with half a brain—anyone who was doing his job and watching her closely enough—would’ve realized what she was planning and would have been prepared.”

Barret continued, “You know as well as I do where Lacey’s headed. I want you to catch up with her and follow her covertly. That shouldn’t be hard for you to do. She’ll lead you right to the strike.”

“What if she don’t?”

Turning on Larry with sudden venom, Barret said, “Then do what you must to
make
her tell you where the strike is located. I’m tired of waiting.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but if Scully—”

“She rode out
alone,
you fool, just as I said she would! You’ll never have a better chance.”

“Alone…” Blackie exchanged a glance with his partner. “Where’s Scully?”

“Who cares? Scully obviously doesn’t even know she left. He hasn’t been meeting her for breakfast lately, and if the rumors around town are correct, he won’t miss her until suppertime tonight. That should give you enough time to accomplish what you need to do.”

“But when Scully finds out—”

“He’s going to have to be taken care of eventually anyway.” Barret’s expression hardened. “You might even be able to kill two birds with one stone if you’re smart enough.”

“Two birds with one stone.” Blackie grinned unexpectedly. “That sounds fine to me.”

But Barret did not smile in return. Instead, he warned, “I’m telling you now—I expect results. I don’t expect to have waited ten years in vain.”

“We’ll find that strike for you, boss.”

“Yeah, we’ll make her talk. You can bet on it.”

Barret paused for a last, lingering stare at the two men before he turned toward the door.

That sounded right to him. He
would
bet on it, too. What they did not know was, at stake would be their lives.

“When did she leave, Barney?”

Tension twisted tight inside Scully as he stood in the livery stable awaiting Barney Pettit’s response. He still couldn’t believe it. He had gone to the restaurant at midmorning expecting to get a glimpse of Lacey while she worked. He had wanted to make sure she was all right, as he had done countless times during the past two weeks without her knowledge. Startled this time to find Millie replacing her, he had spoken to Sadie and had then gone directly to the boarding house, hoping to find Lacey there.

Trepidation had expanded inside him as he tried to convince himself that Lacey wouldn’t be foolish enough to venture out into the rough, dangerous country surrounding Weaver alone, that she was too smart for that. One look at Mary when she opened the boarding house door, however, and he knew he had only been fooling himself.

“She left at dawn.” Replying to his question, Barney eyed Scully’s stiff expression with a frown. “I figured it was kinda strange that Lacey would be going out to visit her grandfather’s grave alone, being’s you was looking after her and all, but she said she’d be fine because she knew her way around these parts.”

Scully glanced toward the rear of the stable. Anticipating his question, Barney said, “Yeah, she took Careful with her. She said she didn’t have to worry about getting lost as long as that old burro was along.”

Dreading Barney’s response, Scully questioned tightly, “Did you see anybody else leave town after she did…anybody you didn’t expect to see?”

“Funny you should ask.” Barney shook his head. “I was tending to one of the mounts a fella left for me at the hitching post out front when Larry Hayes went running into the blacksmith’s shop next door a little while after Lacey left. Noah told me Larry was in such a rush that he didn’t even wait for Noah to reshoe his horse before riding off like a bat out of you-know-where, heading for parts unknown.”

Scully went cold. He had no doubt where that degenerate had been heading. He instructed tensely, “Get my horse ready for the trail, Barney. I’ll be right back to pick him up.”

Cold fear expanded inside Scully as he pushed open the door to his room minutes later and changed into his riding clothes.